Dr. No (1962) review

Since this is the first James Bond film, I feel like they were still finding their footing and figuring out two things: what the overall tone and identity of Bond should be, how stylish should it get and what audiences would actually respond to. There is barely any action until around the 50 minute mark, when the car chase finally happens. Because of that, the movie feels like it is still holding back compared with the later films as if testing the waters. It has not fully discovered the massive Bond formula yet. The sets are not as grand yet, and even the overall scale in terms of extras and production feels much smaller. Still, I love the cinematography of this era. So raw and incredibly sharp.